Three subway stations in Manhattan and Queens plan to test new obstructions on platforms following a rise in random violent incidents of riders being pushed onto tracks.
Platform doors will be offered at Times Square, Third Avenue (at East 14th Street), and Sutfin Boulevard-JFK stations for the 7, L and E lines, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) President Jano Lieber announced Wednesday. .
However, Libre has ruled out platform constraints for now as part of the MTA’s current $51.5 billion capital improvement plan, as ‘too many stations’ do not have the proper engineering to do the sliding door work.
He further explained that three stations were chosen for the experiment because they could support the technology for obstacles – sliding doors between platforms and tracks that would open when the metro arrived.
He did not disclose the cost of the pilot program and there is no timeline for it. But a 2019 3,000-page MTA report found that barrier doors could only operate at 128 stations – about a quarter of the 472 stops on the system – and would cost $7 billion.
The limited number of stations is due to the station structure, the design of subway cars, and the need for wheelchair access.
New York’s subway system is entering its 118th year with 472 stations and 665 miles of track. Lieber has been MTA president since January this year, but acting president since July 2021.
The platform barrier will be introduced in the Big Apple at Times Square on Line 7 (pictured), Third Avenue on the L Line, and JFK Airport on the E Line.
The MTA’s move comes after several fatalities in which several passengers were removed from subway platforms, including 40-year-old Michelle Alyssa Go, who was killed when she was pushed onto the tracks by a troubled homeless man in January went.
A woman in November 2021 and a 62-year-old man in January were also pushed onto the tracks while waiting for the subway in Manhattan.
Passenger security doors on the platform edges are used in the metro system in London, United Kingdom. Due to the increasing number of straphangers being pushed onto tracks in random strikes in New York City, the MTA is looking to build similar barriers in most stations throughout New York City.
After Go’s death, public transportation advocates called on the MTA to build platform barriers that are used in metro systems in Asia and Europe, as well as on AirTrain platforms at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
“This pilot program is an important first step toward making our subway system a more resilient and safer place for New Yorkers to commute,” Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said in a statement.
‘This will not only help prevent future tragedies like the Michelle Gow murder, but also prevent other incidents such as people falling on the tracks, suicide attempts and track fires, which are some of the main reasons for delays in the metro.
At first, MTA officials refused to consider the idea, because of the enormous cost of installation, and complications from the age of the New York City subway system.
Andy Byford, who was former MTA president between 2018 and 2020, told the NY Post that he thought about introducing screen doors during his two-year tenure, but that he eventually did signal modernization to speed up service. decided to increase, which he considered more important.
‘The cost of retrofitting the platform in NYC (and in London) would be enormous,’ Byford said. ‘The platforms were not, in most cases, designed to carry the weight of the doors, even the half-height versions. Add to the mix the fact that a fair number of NYC platforms are winding down and you have even more of a challenge – you’ll be looking at a lot of platform rebuilding.
“We concluded that cost and disruption … were not a realistic idea at the time and that we should focus our attention on signaling first,” said Byford, who is now in charge of running London’s transport system.
However, Libre now wants to prioritize the pilot program.
‘Months ago, I began to see an increasing number of people in the tracks and tunnels. There has been a significant increase. So I formed an inter-agency group at the MTA to study it,’ he told NY1.
MTA President and CEO Jano Lieber (pictured) announced the plan on Wednesday, but also shared his concerns for ‘too many stations’ that do not have the proper engineering to install sliding doors.
The MTA also shared that it will be testing new technology that will use thermal sensors and lasers to assess whether a person has fallen on the tracks.
Lieber said on Wednesday that track safety is a “complex issue” and the MTA intends to work with more psychiatric specialists at New York University (NYU) to help people with mental health problems that are dangerous at stations.
The MTA also shared that it will be testing new technology that will apply thermal sensors and lasers to detect if a person has fallen on the tracks. This technique was first discussed in 2013.
The timeline for any of these changes is unclear; Lieber said the MTA is waiting for them to collect the appropriate funding they need.
For the past two years, New York’s subway system has seen an increase in underground attacks, including passengers being pushed onto tracks.
In 2021, 30 people were pushed onto the track, compared to 20 in 2019 – when the number of riders was higher before the coronavirus pandemic.